Girl traveling 1,000 miles to see MercyMe in Shelby

By Katie Gilbert

Published: Friday, August 9, 2013 at 09:30 AM.

In a song she shared with The Star, Kym wrote about her cousin Jen and her boyfriend, who was out of the country on a military mission. The lyrics in the chorus could speak for Kym’s perseverance in her own situation:

“God’s given me the strength, push past the bullets, do this for you. I don’t know when I’ll take my last breath, I don’t want it to be today. Fears, and uncertainties that overwhelm, break me, are you broken?”

When asked what advice she would give to someone facing daunting challenges like those she has faced, Kym referenced another one of her favorite MercyMe songs and said to hold fast to the teachings of God,

“Look at it like there is another side – you come out somewhere, and God already knows where it is.”

When Kymberlee Leighton's parents asked her where she wanted to spend her summer vacation this year, the Maine teenager told them Shelby, N.C.

Kymberlee is a loyal fan of the Christian rock band MercyMe, which returns to Shelby on Saturday night to perform for the second straight year at the American Legion World Series concert.

The World Series and its related events draw visitors to Cleveland County from across the country each August.

This year, Kymberlee and her family will be among those visitors after traveling about 1,000 miles from Maine to Shelby to make the girl's wish come true.

And it's not the first time the family has traveled many miles to see MercyMe in concert.

It changed her life

On a snowy November morning in 2005, 11-year-old Kymberlee was riding in the front seat of her grandmother’s car. Heading to the store to pick something up for Kym’s cousin’s birthday party, the car hit an icy patch that spun the vehicle sideways in the road.

Before Kym and her grandmother could recover from the shock of their spinning car, Kym’s door was met by an approaching truck traveling at 55 mph.

Kym suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries, including damage to several areas of her brain. After a series of strokes in the hospital and almost two weeks in a coma, Kym woke to darkness – she was blind, with severe long-term, short-term, and immediate memory loss, in addition to no visual memory.

Even when Kym couldn’t remember people and events from her past -- and couldn’t recognize her mother’s voice -- she still managed to sing along to the songs of her favorite band, MercyMe.

'I can only imagine'

Kym had only been listening to MercyMe for about a year before the accident, but according to her mother, Darlene Sproul, she became extremely passionate about the band and its music afterward.

“Kym especially connected to the song ‘I Can Only Imagine,’” Darlene said. “Since she’s blind, she said the first person she’d see is Jesus in Heaven.”

In 2008, a nationwide wish-granting organization gave Kym the opportunity to meet MercyMe. Given a choice between meeting the band and swimming with dolphins, Kym said she prayed and heard God ask her, “Would you rather swim with an animal or grow in your faith?”

Kym chose her faith.

A connection with the singer

Before meeting the band, Kym’s parents bought her a MercyMe DVD to listen to in order to connect with the band members.

“Kym doesn’t recognize faces, but she is so tuned into voices,” Darlene said, “which is probably why she connected to Bart first, because he’s the singer.”

Kym said she feels a strong connection to Bart Millard, who does the vocals for MercyMe, on a personal level. Bart wrote one of Kym’s favorite MercyMe songs, “I Can Only Imagine,” after the death of his father on Nov. 26, which was also the date of Kym’s accident.

Bart and Kym both lost their fathers to cancer at the age of 18, as well.

“Being able to relate to the lead singer is big,” Kym said.

Inspiring memories

When Kym finally met MercyMe for the first time at Disney in Orlando, Fla., her love for them increased. Darlene described the band members as being down to earth and compassionate.

“The band members were amazing with her. When we told them how much their music impacted Kymberlee, they were humbled,” Darlene said.

After their first meeting, Kym and her family have traveled to see MercyMe in Florida, New Hampshire and Maine. The family now plans its vacations around the band’s tour dates, as one of Kym’s dreams is to see them in concert in every state.

Inspired by her love of music, Kym plans to pursue a degree in music engineering, and she would also love to perform. She has taken guitar lessons for three years, but tremors in her right hand and her short-term memory loss make it challenging for her to learn songs.

Despite her challenges with the guitar, music helps Kym learn and remember new things. Through repetition, Kym is able to remember song lyrics, and she can remember other information by putting it into jingles.

“Kym’s music memory seemed to be the only memory that was not impaired,” Darlene said.

'There is another side'

Music has also become an outlet for Kym. She has a collection of 3-400 songs she has written.

In a song she shared with The Star, Kym wrote about her cousin Jen and her boyfriend, who was out of the country on a military mission. The lyrics in the chorus could speak for Kym’s perseverance in her own situation:

“God’s given me the strength, push past the bullets, do this for you. I don’t know when I’ll take my last breath, I don’t want it to be today. Fears, and uncertainties that overwhelm, break me, are you broken?”

When asked what advice she would give to someone facing daunting challenges like those she has faced, Kym referenced another one of her favorite MercyMe songs and said to hold fast to the teachings of God,

“Look at it like there is another side – you come out somewhere, and God already knows where it is.”

Reach Katie Gilbert at 704-669-3333.

More about Kym

* Kym has Cortical Vision Impairment – her eyes and optic nerves are fine, but the part of her brain that interprets vision is severely damaged.

* She has recovered some of her vision, but it is distorted, like looking through a kaleidoscope, and it is limited to the size of two dice.